Sailors work overtime to keep up with demands

About 15 young men from Steamboat Springs pulled triple duties as students, junior varsity football players and varsity football players from Sept. 3-8 as they endured four days of school, two games and hours of practice.

Their week began with a Sept. 3 loss to Rifle's junior varsity in Steamboat. On Wednesday it was back to practice, but a majority of the players spent large portions of their time practicing against the big boys on varsity because of a lack of bodies.

On Thursday, the younger Sailors pulled double duty with a junior varsity practice right after school and a varsity practice at night under the lights. As part of Steamboat's varsity football team, though many of these boys see minimal playing time, they are expected to practice with the varsity. Because they play mostly on JV, they used Thursday to prepare for Saturday's game against Hayden's varsity.

On Friday, it was a road trip to Eagle Valley High School in Gypsum and back again, made tougher by a 28-20 defeat. Fortunately, there was little time to think about it because Saturday's kickoff against the Tigers was at 1 p.m.

"Your body goes through a lot," Steamboat sophomore quarterback Trace Adams said. "But playing in the games is worth it."

Such is the life of a high school football player. On Saturday afternoon, after the horn sounded, the nearly 15 young men from Steamboat got to clock out for one day at least.

On Monday it's back to work, and Adams found out he may be playing in the freshman game as well.

Injury update

Sailors senior running back Zach Forcum went through pre-game warmups Friday night in Gypsum but was forced into street clothes before the start of the game. He is continuing to experience problems with his hip flexor. Forcum isn't expected to miss a large portion of the season, but with league play still two weeks away, there is little reason to rush him back into the lineup.

Senior Wayne Cluster suffered a first-half shoulder injury in Friday's 28-20 loss to the Devils and did not return to action. It is unknown when he will be back in the starting lineup.

Following Friday's game, coach Mark Drake emerged from the locker room shaking his head. The Devils handed a serious case of bumps and bruises to his Sailors, but nothing appeared to be critical.

Around the league

Rifle improved to 3-0 with its 42-14 victory over Roaring Fork Friday night.

Both Delta and Moffat County fell to 0-2 with losses against Monte Vista and Cedaredge, respectively.

Like Steamboat Springs, Glenwood Springs' mark went to 1-1 overall with a 44-0 win over Basalt Friday after losing its first game of the season on Aug. 31.

Montezuma-Cortez opened its 2002 season with a 37-6 loss to Pagosa Springs and sits at 0-1 thus far.

Palisade's game against Hotchkiss was Saturday night and a score was not known at press time. Prior to that contest, Palisade was 2-0 and looking to keep pace with Rifle atop the Western Slope standings with actual league play still two weeks away.